Stanford MBAs earn a median mid-career salary of $184,600. Instagram/@stanfordbusiness Business school comes with a hefty price tag. With tuition costs of around $60,000 a year plus fees and other expenses, your total could be around $100,000 per year.

What's more, as grads of top-tier schools progress into the mid-career stage (at least 10 years of experience in their field), they can expect a median salary that approaches $200,000, PayScale reports.